The Stafford Motor Speedway is entering into the 2022 racing season in late April. The season starts off with opening day on a Saturday, followed by the 50th running of the Spring Sizzler on the 24th. The track is coming off of an action packed and historic year for racing and it looks to get even more intense in ‘22. Coming into the racing season the track has several drivers moving up or switching teams along with new drivers entering for the first time, but for every weekly division there will always be stand out drivers. This week NYSS Race Day is featuring the SK Modified division at the track.
Listed below is a list of the top three drivers of the SK Modified division at the track along with an honorable mention, the list is based on sole stats.
3 - Marcello Rufrano finished 9th in last year’s SKM standings without a win. The SK Modified division has about 12-15 cars per week that can easily pull off the win, making the division undoubtedly one of, if not the most hardest divisions to race in the northeast. Rufrano had 5 Top5s followed by 10Top10s on the season. Finishing in front of three feature winners in points, Rufrano can easily become a winner himself this upcoming season.
2 - Tyler Hines shined in 2021 surprising everyone by winning the first race of the 2021 season. The young gun will be in contention once again for a championship this 2022 season as he comes off two feature wins in the year prior.
1 - Todd Owen is coming off of a championship winning season, he has nothing else to prove as he is a household name in the racing community. The biggest question is who will challenge the seasoned vet? We saw a three way battle between Owen, Michael Christopher Jr. and Stephen Kopick last year with points being tight. Biggest thing is that Todd Owen cannot start 2022 on a championship hangover, consistency is everything and if Owen is consistent he will be a force to reckon with. 15Top5s and 18Top10s saw the No.81 upfront race in and out, Owen is looking to get back-to-back championships in ‘22.
HM - Stephen Kopcik won five races last season, despite having the most wins in the SKM division he finished over 50 points from first place Todd Owen. Kopcik has the talent and equipment to run upfront and win, but will he have consistency on his side? The biggest thing that led to the championship loss was missing a race, Kopcik competed in 19 out of 20 features. When on the track out of the VL we saw 13Top5s and over 15Top10s for the young driver. Kopcik can challenge any driver for the championship and can win it himself if he competes in every race and gets top five finishes.
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